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Big fat liar

The truth hit me like a pie in the face - my fella was up to no good


Published by: Jessica Powell
Published on: 11th October 2010

Sometimes, something can be staring you in the face, but you just don’t see it. Like when you’re looking for your car keys, and they’re in the fruit bowl – not that I’m comparing my mate Simon to a set of keys.
We spent all our time together. He made me laugh, I never got bored of him… and yet it never crossed my mind until now, a year after we’d met, that we could be more than just friends.
It was my mate Heather who’d first tried setting us up. But when we met, I’d written him off as boyfriend material. I was being totally shallow, but I thought he was a bit, well, chubby.
But a few drinks later and we’d hit it off, becoming good mates. We loved comedy nights and clubbing, and had the same dry sense of humour.
As hours, days, weeks, months passed, we’d grown closer and closer, plus he’d begun to lose a little weight…
‘Are you on a diet?’ I’d teased.
‘I just don’t feel comfortable being this big,’ he’d said, brushing it off. ‘I’ve started going to the gym every week and cut back on what I’m eating.’
He had scoffed loads – chips and curry, takeaways, fry-ups and tons of cakes. His favourites were profiteroles. I could only eat two before I felt sick, but he’d be licking the plate!
Thanks to cutting back though, he was starting to look positively hot. It was a definite bonus but, more than that, as I’d got to know his lovely personality, my feelings for him had grown.
We could never be more than friends, though… could we?
One night, I’d spotted some girls eyeing up his toned new bod. And that’s when I’d suddenly seen clearly what had been staring me in the face all along – I was in love with Simon!
I had to make a move before someone else snapped him up!
‘Simon, I…’ I started.
‘I’ve got to say something,’ he butted in, and began unbuttoning his shirt! My jaw dropped. What on earth?
‘What do you think of me now?’ he asked, grabbing my hand and pressing it against his chest so I could feel his new lean, sexy body.
‘Wow! You…you look amazing!’
I gulped.
‘I’ve done this for you, because I’m in love with you,’
he confessed.
Wow! This felt like a scene from a movie, but our happy ever after didn’t stop there. We started dating and worked really well as a couple because we were already so close.
A couple of months later, he made an announcement. ‘I’ve got a new job as a gym instructor.’
‘That’s fantastic,’ I said, cuddling his slim-line figure close.
Life really was looking perfect, the man of my dreams had landed the job of his!
Just a few nights later, I was in town and I bumped into Louise, a friend of a friend.
‘I really need to lose some weight,’ she sighed, checking herself out in the loo mirrors.
She was pretty big, and those leggings she was wearing weren’t very forgiving…
Oh, this was a chance to land a client for Simon!
‘Let me give you my boyfriend’s number. He’s a personal trainer,’ I said proudly. ‘He lost a lot of weight himself and now he has gone into business.’
Soon Simon was training Louise four times a week and had signed up other clients, too. What’s more, he was always around my place.
The next time I saw Louise, she was living proof of how good he was at his job. She’d
dropped 4st!
‘You look amazing!’
I squealed.
‘Thanks,’ she smiled. ‘Simon has really changed my life.’ I was so proud of him.
But it wasn’t long before he was working non-stop.
‘Let’s go away for a weekend, spend some quality time together,’ I suggested. ‘Let me make the most of that body of yours…’
‘I can’t. I’ve got an appointment with Louise,’ he shrugged.
‘But it’s a Bank Holiday. Who works then?’ I teased.
‘I can’t let my clients down.’
And if he wasn’t working up a sweat with clients, he was working on keeping himself looking gorgeous. He couldn’t pass a mirror without lifting his shirt to check out his abs, and he must have text me about 30 photos of his six-pack.
It seemed like maybe it wasn’t just his bod that was changing – his personality was, too. He was becoming vain and far from the laid-back, tubby fella he’d been.
And he was always snapping at me when I asked about his clients and work. We hadn’t had a good laugh in months, not like when we were just mates.
I assumed he was stressed and working too hard. But when he started taking his phone in the shower… well, it didn’t take a genius to work out something was going on.
Was my boyfriend giving something other than his muscles a workout…?
So when he popped out one morning, forgetting his phone, and I noticed it flashing with a message, I couldn’t resist looking.
‘An email from Louise,’ I muttered, disappointed. ‘Probably asking about diet tips.’
Then I started reading…
Hey Loverboy, I can’t get you out of my head x
‘What the…?’ I spat.
There was a picture attached, too. Clicking it open, a snapshot of her stark naked appeared on screen! I dropped the phone like a hot coal.
‘It can’t be,’ I cried, rubbing my hands on my jeans. ‘What the hell is she thinking? That’s my boyfriend.’
The front door went. Simon must be back. I needed time to think before I confronted him. I could hear him moving about the house, any minute now he’d come into the bedroom.
In a panic, I raced out into the street and started walking, trying to get my head straight.
Simon had changed from the cheerful chubster who’d won over my heart with friendship and laughter. If only he’d stayed the way he was, this might never have happened. If only he was fatter again…
Suddenly, I got a whiff of warm sausage rolls from the bakery at the end of the road, and the craziest idea popped into my head.
I bought a big box of profiteroles – the kind he loved to eat back in his fat days – and went home to confront him. Slipping my hand into the box, I grabbed the first cake and… slammed it into his mouth as he sat watching TV!
‘Get back to how you were, you cheat!’ I wailed.
Wham! Another cake in his face. Cream squirted down his vest top.
‘What’s going on?’ he spluttered.
‘You tell me,’ I screamed. ‘I saw Louise’s message.’
‘She… she was just showing me how slim she is from training,’ he stuttered.
How could he lie to my face like that? ‘Get out!’ I yelled.
Slamming the door in his face, I fell to the floor and sobbed my heart out.
Bleep! My phone buzzed with a text message.
I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t know how to tell you. Simon.
You didn’t need to lie, I immediately text back. That was five months ago, and I haven’t seen his skinny backside since.
I thought Simon had changed for the better, not worse, but it seems I was wrong.
Sometimes, something can be staring you in the face, but you just can’t see it – including a cheating boyfriend.

• Simon Howarth, 29, says: ‘I won Charlie over by losing weight because I liked her, but things didn’t work out for us. Basically, me and Louise clicked far more than I did with Charlie.’

• Louise Cockson, 28,says: ‘Me and Simon are very much an item. I didn’t get to know Charlie that well, so I don’t feel guilty. What’s happened must be tough for her, but she wasn’t right for him, I was.’
Charlie Veeta, 35, Wimbledon, London